Aid hike eases tax burden

SARATOGA SPRINGS >> An increase in state aid and lower health insurance costs have helped the Saratoga Springs City School District reduce the amount of revenue to be raised by taxes in the 2014-15 school budget.

The $116.4 million spending plan adopted by the board of education Tuesday calls for $76.4 million to be raised through the tax levy. That’s about $400,000 less than the district’s original estimate of $76.8 million March 25.

The budget, which will go before voters May 20, calls for a 3.41 percent spending increase. The 2.24 percent tax levy increase, which falls within a state-mandated cap on property taxes, is less than the 2013-14 2.9 percent tax hike.

Although tax rates won’t be determined until tax rolls are finalized in August, a house worth $315,000 is anticipated to have approximately an $85 annual increase in school taxes, according to Kurt Jaeger, the district’s assistant superintendent for business, who presented the adjusted figures to the board this week.

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Jaeger said after homeowners pay their school taxes, those eligible for the state e School Tax Relief Program (STAR) will receive a rebate check for the increase in their school taxes in the fall from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.

He emphasized that residents must be registered for STAR to receive the rebate. If they do not register, they lose both the STAR benefit and the tax rebate. The Department of Taxation and Finance is still accepting late registrations at www.tax.ny.gov.

“We are now in the home stretch of our budget process,” Jaeger said. “We originally had a modest shortfall, but then the health insurance premiums came in lower and the state aid higher than expected.”

District revenue has increased partly due to the forthcoming state aid. The governor’s original Jan. 21 state aid proposal was estimated at $28.4 million for the district. The actual number came in at $29.4 million. This figure comprises additional reinstatement of the Gap Elimination Adjustment, deferred amortization recalculations and increased foundation aid.

“There’s been some progress on state aid,” trustee Frank Palumbo said. “The governor is adding back some funds previously removed in earlier state runs.”

Jaeger said, “The state aid helps us lower the tax levy from our first estimate.”

The district’s original maximum allowable tax levy growth for 2014-15 was 2.7 percent. The newly calculated budget figure is lower, at 2.24 percent, and is also less than the 2.9 percent in 2013-14. The tax levy increase is within a state-mandated cap on property taxes.

Actual tax rates won’t be determined until the tax rolls are finalized in August.

As for expenditures, the district has reduced estimated budgetary provisions for health insurance renewal from $34.8 million to $34.2 million. The $637,000 saved is now available for new program updates or other purposes. The 2014-15 proposed spending plan contains no major cuts to programs or staff.

Jaeger noted the consumer price index on the district’s property tax report card, a document filed with the state. In 2013-14, the index was 2.1 percent. This school year, the estimate is 1.5 percent.

“This is a very good budget, well-focused and well thought-out,” Palumbo said. “There’s no perfect spending plan, but given the hurdles, the administration has done a great job.”

The budget goes before voters May 20 for final approval.

Last year, school district residents overwhelmingly approved the 2013-14 budget by a vote of 1,840 to 456 — a better than 4-1 margin. That $112.6 million budget represented a 2.62 percent increase over the 2012-13 budget. The tax levy increase was nearly 2 percentage points, but still well below the 4.8 percent limit set by the state’s property tax levy cap law and followed four years when the annual tax levy increase averaged 1.27 percent.

In addition to the 2013-14 budget, district residents then approved a capital project proposition by a vote of 1,761 to 474 and a proposition concerning school bus purchases by a vote of 1,740 to 510.

By the numbers

A look at the proposed 2014-15 Saratoga Springs City School District budget.

* Total budget: $116.4 million

* Spending increase: 3.41 percent

* Amount to be raised by taxes: $76.4 million

* Tax levy increase: 2.24 percent

* The vote: On May 20

* On the Web: Complete budget information is available at www.saratogaschools.org